Babylon
by Tgonthefiery
Summary: For almost half her life Eve has been trapped in a continuum of torture, suffering and despair. Studied like an animal, all because of a Petrine Cross etched into her forehead. But when she has a vision of Satan and makes a deal with the devil himself, she's given a chance to bring an end to the people who tortured her. Welcome to Sheol...
1. The Darkest of Hearts

**Sup people.**

 **Yeah. I was still bored.**

 **So yeah. Um.**

 **I'm done here. Enjoy and stuff. Review and uh, you know.**

 **See you. Maybe. I dunno.**

 **Also yeah DrKratz beta read this. So thanks. Yee. Yah. Yay. He wants to add that he likes food. And food. Mm. Lots of food.**

 **Chapter 1**

 **The Darkest of Hearts**

"Bed. Table. Door. Birdcage. Window-wait, shit." A bolt of pain shot up her arm, as a burning hot rod was pressed against her skin, by a man in a black suit and visored helmet.s

"Try it again." A computerised voice said nonchalantly as the rod withdrew from her arm, but was still positioned ready to strike. She took a deep breath, and attempted to recite the list again.

"Bed. Table. Window-" The rod was there again, burning her skin and making waves of pain wash over her.

"You normally do better than this." She looked forward to see the door to the room opening, and a man in a white lab coat walked in, a scowl on his face.

"Sorry Dr Kayne." She muttered as she looked down at her feet, which were shackled to the white chair in which she was sitting.

"It's the stress." Dr Kayne murmured to himself. "Take away the rod, Michael." The man holding the rod nodded, standing up from his chair and exiting the room. "I had a feeling this would happen. You're always so sensitive when it comes to pain, aren't you Eve?"

"I guess." Eve said quietly, drumming her fingers on the chains which restrained her arms behind the back of the chair. "A little."

"You mean a lot." Dr Kayne stepped forward a little and brushed back her dark bangs covering her right eye, revealing the red Petrine Cross etched into her forehead. "I'm surprised you haven't reacted yet. Usually you're so eager to play."

"Not today, I'm not. I'm sick of this, why can't I go home?" She asked quietly, and Dr Kayne frowned.

"Oh, you know you can't go home, not just yet. There's so much that we don't understand."

"I want to go home!"

 _Slap._

Eve hardly reacted to the pain, her head jerking to the right as his palm connected with her left cheek. She felt the pain slowly ebb away, until it was gone. She didn't bother to attempt to fight back; she'd already experienced the consequences on Day 1. She'd rather not return to that.

"You're 12, Eve. Don't be such a child." Dr Kayne said coldly. "I expected more from you." She didn't answer, simply sniffling a little as a tear formed in her eye. "I hope you'll be more cooperative in a little while."

That meant that he was going to leave her here. Probably for two hours, or maybe three. But either way, it always felt **exactly** the same. And Eve loathed it; she hated to be left alone, with no one to talk to, nothing to focus on. And it was worse when it was this room; this stupid, tiny white cube, with barren walls and only one door, which couldn't even really be seen; it was white and might as well have been part of the damn wall.

"Okay." She said, in a voice barely more than a whisper, giving Dr Kayne a shaky nod. "Sure." He sighed and left the room, leaving Eve alone. It was almost amusing to her. This happened almost every day; the days it didn't were often filled with various other forms of torture. Once, they'd attempted to drown her until she reacted; it hadn't worked, only wearing her out. It was an endless cycle of pain, one that she'd probably have to live in for the rest of her life. All because of the stupid Petrine Cross on her forehead.

 **xXx**

The lights flickered when _**Incubus**_ appeared over Lilith's head, flitting around as men in black suits attempted to catch him. Dr Russel referred to them as _wraiths_ , which Lilith was pretty sure referred to their jobs.

"Tell the blasted thing to stop!" One of them yelled, and she shrugged.

"Sorry. I can't; he's not a part of me." She laughed as the baby demon dive bombed one of the _wraiths_ and spat a glob of burning acid into the visor of his helmet.

"Ah!" The _wraith_ let out a scream and fell backwards as the other two continued to jump and try to knock the little winged demon out of the air.

"You're finding this amusing." Dr Russell said from behind Lilith, frowning. "I don't."

"You doctors never find anything amusing." She muttered, before a bolt of electricity stung her neck. "Ow!"

"Order him to stop." Dr Russell demanded, crossing her arms. "This is your final warning."

"Fine. _**Incubus**_ , stop!" The demon didn't respond and did a loop de loop before kicking a Wraith in the face and spitting in the others'. "I told you, he doesn't listen to me."

"He comes out when you tell him too." Dr Russell pointed out, and Lilith shrugged.

"Maybe, but I don't have _complete_ control over him." She said. "He's just as sentient as you or I."

"But he _is_ loyal to you." Dr Russell said.

"I suppose." Lilith muttered. "Sort of."

"Then if I threaten you, he will come _here_. Correct? Yay, or nay?"

"You wouldn't do that." She said, only for Dr Russell to pull a gun from her back pocket, and place the barrel against the side of her head.

"Or would I?" The woman smiled sickly, and Lilith's blood went cold.

"Bullshit." Dr Russell kicked her in the ankle, causing both of her legs to buckle underneath her.

"Demon! Stop, or I'll kill her!" She shrieked, and _**Incubus**_ suddenly froze in mid-air. Lilith fervently shook her head.

 _No._ She mouthed, as one of the Wraiths attempted to catch him. However he twisted away at the last second, jabbing him in the back with his wing talon.

"He doesn't care." She said, and laughed. "Because as soon as you kill me, you lose your link with him, and he knows that. If you pull that trigger, _**Incubus**_ disappears for good, and you don't get the chance to prod him with your needles and study his blood."

Dr Russell scowled, but realised she was right. Slowly, she released her grip on Lilith's shoulder, and lowered the gun.

"See, that wasn't so hard-" Dr Russell slammed the gun into Lilith's face causing her to crumple to the ground, unconscious.

"Get the little-damn it!" As soon as Lilith hit the floor, _**Incubus**_ was gone, his body vanishing into thin air. "Argh!" Dr Russell kicked the wall in anger, hauling Lilith to her feet. "I'll take care of her; you three, go enjoy your break. It's 1." The _wraiths_ didn't respond, simply turning and exiting the room. She waited until their clunky footsteps faded away into the distance, before looking back it Lilith's face. "You're a little troublemaker, you know that?" She muttered and began to drag her out of the room. Somewhere, an alarm rang. Dr Russel couldn't care less; the _wraiths_ would take care of it. They always did.

 **xXx**

When Dr Kayne came back for Eve, it had been _five_ whole hours since he'd left.

"Are you feeling a little more cooperative now?" He asked, and she gave him a stiff nod, more or less just happy that she had someone to talk to.

"Sure." She said, and noticed the three _wraiths_ standing behind him. "What are you going to do?" The _wraiths_ looked at her menacingly through their visors, each clutching a heated metal rod, though they were unaffected due to their heat proof armour.

"It's lunch time. I'm letting you go." Dr Kayne said as Eve gave him a look of surprise.

"Oh. Okay." She muttered as a Wraith walked behind her, the other two leaning down to unshackle her feet. "Thanks." She gasped as her wrists were unchained, and she rubbed them gratefully. Two clicks and a sudden lack of cold metal around her ankles told her the same had been done to her legs.

Eve stood on her legs unsteadily, wobbling a little as she walked out of the open door. Dr Kayne held her shoulder as they headed down the corridor; the walls were just as white as the room they'd just been in. In fact, the entire building had the same colour scheme. Everything had to be white. The doors, the walls, the floor, the tables; it made it difficult to tell if you were walking into a pillar or down a hallway, but it made things which were different colours easier to stand out.

They passed a group of _wraiths_ in the corridor, who stood completely still at their stations; they'd always made Eve feel unnerved, but it wasn't as if she could tell anyone that. All that would earn her was another drowning session.

They came to the end of the corridor, and Dr Kayne took out a green key card from the pocket of his lab coat, swiping it over a white panel with a red light. It beeped, and the light turned green as the door in front of them slid open, revealing the cafeteria.

There were scores of people sitting at tables as they are their food loudly; mostly scientists, since Eve and Lilith were the only test subjects in the facility, as far as they were aware. Dr Kayne released her then, and after Eve had gotten her food from, she wandered through the tables, trying to find one that was empty. She rarely sat with anyone, and only either when she was forced to due to lack of room, or it was someone who she trusted; and Eve trusted only _one_ person in this place.

She sighed as she saw a familiar redhead sitting alone at her table, legs dangling from her overly high seat. She walked over to the table and sat down silently.

"Eve." Lilith said, nodding to acknowledge her presence.

"Lilith." Eve returned the gesture and fell silent. Neither of the girls smiled. It wasn't that they didn't like each other. They were each other's closest friends, their most trusted confidants. But the time they'd been here had taken away both of their smiles.

"I can't remember the last time we've both been released for Lunch together." Eve muttered, and Lilith shrugged.

"I got Russell to hit me in the face; obligatory Lunch break. You?"

"Got chained to a chair for a while. It was okay, actually. It got me thinking."

"About what?"

"Mostly how much I want to punch Kayne's face in." It got a small snicker out of her friend, but it was gone as suddenly as it came. "And how much I miss fresh air." She added, and Lilith sighed.

"Do you think our families are looking for us?" She asked, and Eve shrugged.

"Honestly, I don't know. We've been here for-what, 5 Years? I'd be surprised if they were still running around waving Missing Posters at people."

"That's a depressing thought." Lilith murmured as she prodded a potato with her fork. "But probably accurate."

"Mm. Speaking of accuracy, what time do you think it is?" Both Eve and Lilith had long suspected that _Lunch breaks_ weren't actually at Lunch time. The intervals between meals ranged from 5 hours to 12, and sometimes they completely skipped them. It was probably just a way to keep them from knowing too much, but it seemed like a pointless thing to do.

"Russell mentioned that it was 1." Said Lilith, and Eve raised an eyebrow.

"Huh. Not too far off."

"Yeah."

Eve shovelled the last few bits of potato into her mouth and slammed down her fork.

"You eat fast." Lilith muttered, looking down at her own plate, which was barely half finished.

Eve shrugged as she saw Dr Russell walk out of the room.

"Do they know about the box?" She asked, and Lilith shook her head.

"God, no. That would be terrible. I've hidden it pretty well, or so I like to think. But eventually they're going to catch the dupe _**Incubus**_ and figure out what's going on."

"Good. They still haven't figure out what makes me transform. I swear, Kayne has got to be one of the most stupid people I know. He tries heated rods, he tries drowning, and not once does he think about spilling blood."

"Yeah. Maybe he's just sensitive to blood?"

"No way." Eve replied, shaking her head. "On Day 1, they impaled me through the chest. _That_ got me to switch, but so far they haven't found any other method."

"I've got a similar situation with _**Incubus**_. Day 1, they already knew that _I_ could call him, but they haven't figured out how. 5 years, and they don't understand what a soul bond is. Idiots."

Eve snorted, as she saw Dr Kayne approaching.

"How's your bird?" Lilith asked, and Eve gave her a small shrug.

"Jimmy's doing okay." She said. "I don't think he's eating though."

"I seriously can't believe you call him Jimmy." Lilith muttered. "That's gotta be the dumbest name ever."

"My sister named her bird that." Eve stated, her face expressionless. Lilith winced as she realised what she'd done.

"You never told me that."

"I didn't see the need to. We both remember next to nothing about our families."

Both girls fell into silence, as Lilith muttered a silent curse.

"Do you ever think about just ending it?" The dark haired girl asked suddenly, and Lilith frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, what kind of life is this? We just live in an endless cycle of pain, waiting for them to prod us with needles or hurt us. We've been doing this for 5 years, Lilith. I don't know if I can take this anymore."

"Don't tell me that you're really thinking about that." Lilith said quietly, and Eve shook her head frantically.

"No, I just-"

"Hello, Eve." Dr Kayne put a hand on her shoulder, making her flinch. "And Lilith, dear. How have you been?" The redhead muttered something inaudible in reply and took a bite from her food.

"I'll take you back to your room." He said, and Eve nodded as she stood up.

"Bye." She said to Lilith as she turned around.

"Bye." Her friend replied in a dismissive tone. Eve gave her one last glance, but Lilith didn't even bother to look up.

 **xXx**

Eve's room barely deserved to be called one; it was only slightly bigger then the room Dr Kayne often experimented on her in, and that was so it could fit the bed and the shelf. As the door closed behind her, Eve's attention went to the birdcage swinging from the ceiling, a small crow flirting around in it.

"Hi Jimmy." She said quietly as she jumped onto her bed and lay on her back. Jimmy cawed softly, accidentally bumping into one of the bars on his cage. When Eve had been abducted, she'd had most of her memories wiped from her brain, though she could still understand the basic rules of life; she had to have a family somewhere. But the closest thing she had to a memory of her family was that they'd had a bird; what kind, she couldn't remember. Eve vaguely remembered having a younger sister, but she couldn't even remember what she looked like, or what her name was; just that she'd been the one to name the bird Jimmy. And that frustrated her. It frustrated her _so_ damn much.

Dr Kayne had brought her the crow on Day 10. For being a good girl, he'd said, which Eve knew meant that he was pleased she'd transformed. The crow had been annoying at first, but she eventually came to love him. She called him Jimmy, just like she remembered, and sometimes Eve would hug his cage to her chest and weep.

Lilith couldn't remember her family either; her memories consisted of _**Incubus**_ , and only him. Meeting him, calling on him, playing with him; she'd known the baby since she was 3, but the word only got out when she was around 6. Come her 7th year, and she was abducted too, the same time as Eve. She didn't know how Lilith really felt about this whole situation; her friend was more closed off than herself.

"How was your day?" Eve asked Jimmy, taking off her black T-shirt and putting on a fresh one from the shelf. "They poked me with rods again." She absentmindedly rubbed the place where the _wraith_ had pressed the burning rod to her skin as she stood up and opened the door to the bathroom.

The bathroom was bigger than her actual room, at least twice the size. It had the usual; a sink, mirror, toilet and a shower. There was a toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste on the table, as well as a _**Dull Razor**_. Eve found her eyes drawn to the razor and gripped it in her right hand.

She fingered it for a moment or two, running her index finger up and down the bumpy spine, and pressing the blade to the tip of the finger, watching as a single drop of blood was spilled. It didn't hurt; instead, Eve just felt sadness. The blade was dull, sure, but it would do the trick.

She took a moment to look in the mirror, for what she felt would be the last time. Eve hesitated a little as she positioned the blade over her wrist, but the demon on her shoulder whispered louder than the angel.

 _This isn't a life worth living._

Eve took a deep breath, and pressed the blade against her veins, smiling weakly as the world began to fade, and the Petrine Cross on her forehead began to glow a bloody crimson. She heard Jimmy caw one last time, before her head hit the tiled floor with a thud; her brain shut down…

 **xXx**

 _When Eve opened her eyes, the first thing she thought was that she was freezing cold. There was no chilling wind in this dark, dank place, but the cold seemed to emanate from every direction. She was lying on a stone floor, covered in cracks and streaks of blood. As well as that, there seemed to be splattered organs lying around randomly. Perhaps from past victims. Directly in front of her, Eve could see an orange flame crackling merrily, it's only fuel being two sodden logs._

 _She frowned as she crawled towards the fire and held out her hands. In the light she could see the cut she'd made on her wrist, still bleeding freely. The blood was leaking onto the floor, making a repetitive drumming noise. Eve tilted her head, suddenly puzzled by the mysterious presence of the fire. No heat radiated from the bright orange tongues; it was almost as if it wasn't even there. She was tempted to reach out and touch the flames, but something stopped her. One of the few things she remembered about her childhood was her mother scolding her 'It's never a good idea to play with fire.'_

 _Eve moved her legs, so she was crouching, she slowly began to rise to her full height. Her neck cracked as she attempted to straighten out her spine, and she shrieked loudly, before looking around frantically. If anyone was in the room with her, she couldn't see them. She breathed a sigh of relief and steered her attention to a doorway in front of her, outlined by a thin layer of stone sticking out of the wall. Eve walked towards it on shaky legs and pushed the door._

 _The stone was hard and heavy, but she placed her palms against it, and shoved with all her might. The door gave way and Eve stumbled forward, catching herself on the wall as she was greeted by the sight of an enormous figure seated on a throne. The throne was ringed with pillars of blazing blue fire, and the figure who was seated looked at her curiously with his beady, red glowing eyes. Two wickedly curled horns jutted out of his head, matching the black tone of the rest of his body. A set of massive feathery wings stretched from his back, as the figure reached out his claw, and made a flicking motion._

 _The blue fire was instantly put out, and Eve shivered as the cold came as suddenly as it had left upon entering the room; apparently, the blue fire_ did _give off heat, while the orange flames provided nothing but a small amount of light._

" _Hello there, little one." The figure said and beckoned with a single finger. "Come forward, so that I can see you better." Eve swallowed nervously and stepped forward slowly; she didn't want to fall. The only sources of light in the room now were his two glowing eyes. "You're one of the prettier ones, huh?" The figure chuckled as he withdrew his hand. "Haven't seen a girl as beautiful as you in some time."_

" _Who are you?" Eve asked, trying her best to hide the fact that her voice was trembling. "What is this place?"_

" _My name," The figure began, "is one that you would know if you put your mind to it. Think about it; what does this place look like?"_

" _You're…" Eve racked her brain, then gasped. "You're Satan." When the figure nodded eagerly she clutched at her head and cried, tears streaming from her eyes and plinking against the ground. "I died. I died, and now I've ended up in Hell." Satan snorted, and got up off his throne._

" _You're not in Hell, my dear. That place is one of only fire and endless torment; this place is Sheol, where all departed spirits go." He told her as she looked up, uncertainty etched into her face. "There is no_ Heaven _, just like there is no_ Hell _. There is only one place that dead souls go, and that is here."_

" _So, then I'm dead?" Eve asked bitterly. "Am I really dead? I mean, if I am, this is my own fault. I filled my own head with suicidal thoughts."_

" _You're not dead." Satan assured her and put his hand on her shoulder. "You're just unconscious; I've seen this happen many times before. How is it that you came to be here? You said you tried to kill yourself."_

" _Yeah. I did." Eve said quietly as her tears continued to fall. "My life is just…it's not one worth living."_

" _And why is that?" The demon king asked. "Surely there must be_ something _worth living for, dear…"_

" _My name's Eve. And maybe that's so for other people, but not for me. I got abducted when I was seven; people took me to this facility, and they've been testing on me for five years, because-" Eve suddenly fell silent as she rubbed her slit wrist, ignoring the pain of her skin being pulled and the feeling of blood running down her arm. "…because I can transform into a demon."_

 _Satan looked at her sympathetically, and walked behind his throne, a long tail dragging on the floor behind him._

" _So, you're one of those. A_ _ **Shifter**_ _. Petrine Cross on the forehead." He stated, and she nodded._

" _Yeah. They don't know that I transform when I lose a lot of blood, though."_

" _That gives you time to escape. I have an idea."_

 _Eve blinked in disbelief, as Satan reappeared with a severed goat's head clutched in his right hand._

" _You_ want _to help me?" She asked, and he gave her a small shrug._

" _There's a price for everything, of course. And no, I'm not going to ask for your soul." She breathed a sigh of relief, as Satan tossed the head to the ground. It looked like he'd just ripped it off; the blood wasn't dry, and the goat's eyes would have looked alive if it weren't for the specks of blood staining the cream coloured fur. He clicked his fingers, and the_ **Goat Head** _was suddenly engulfed in blue fire. The flames swallowed it up, first consuming the fur, then the flesh. When Satan clicked his fingers again to put out the flames, all that was left was a charred, black goat skull, sitting on a fine blanket of ash and singed fur._

" _When you wake up, find yourself a_ **Goat Head** _just like that one. Right now, you're here just by coincidence. But if you can get yourself that_ **Goat Head** _, you'll arrive in Sheol every time you go to bed." He instructed her as he picked up the skull and brushed off a bit of ash._

" _How am I going to find a goat?" Eve asked, and Satan gave her a wide grin._

" _It will come; I assure you. Fate rarely sets events in motion with so much time between them." He told her, as he sat back on his throne, wings spread out behind him._

" _Then that's it?" She looked at the skull resting in his claws and shivered. "What happens when I come back?"_

" _When you come back, dear," Satan's eyes twinkled as he crushed the skull in his fist, "we make a deal."_

 **xXx**

"Eve! Eve!" Her eyes flickered open slowly, as someone looked over her. "She's awake! Hang on!" It was Dr Kayne, with a genuinely concerned expression on his face. "What were you thinking?" The man hissed angrily, as Eve sat up in her bed, looking down at her arm. Her left wrist was now bandaged tightly, though she could see the faint impressions of the crimson liquid seeping through the strips of cloth.

"Well, then. I never thought I'd live to see the day." Eve turned to her left to see Dr Russell, a frown on her face. "You were trying to kill yourself. That's pretty serious, Eve." She didn't respond, and just decided to focus on the bathroom door.

"I feel like you're not taking this seriously, Eve." Dr Kayne said coldly. "Maybe you need a little reminder of who's in control here."

"I second that opinion." Dr Russell agreed, and Eve shrank away. She didn't want them to hurt her anymore; she just wanted to sleep, and dream. She wanted to be out of this place. She wanted to _leave_.

"But don't worry, we won't be hurting _you_." He grinned and pointed at Jimmy as he flitted around in his cage. "Your bird, on the other hand…" Eve felt her heart skip a beat, as Dr Russell took out her gun, and pointed it at the crow.

"No, PLEASE-" the gunshot sounded, and suddenly Eve couldn't hear. There was a faint ringing noise in her ears, and she screamed as Jimmy's body exploded into a pile of blood, flesh and feathers, his wings dangling through the bars of the cage. "No…" she muttered to herself. "This can't be real. I'm still asleep." Dr Kayne silently took the bird cage down, opening the door and throwing Jimmy's heap of a body at Eve. The two doctors left the room, and suddenly she burst into tears.

She hugged the crow's mangled body to her chest, weeping as his newly spilt blooded drenched her shirt and covered her arms and soaked through the bandages around her wrist. Jimmy's black feathers landed around her bed covers, flitting around randomly as they fell. Eve curled herself into a little ball, crying into the bird's dead body.

But she couldn't do this forever. She had to stop; she had a mission. To get that goat head, no matter the cost. Eve slowly set down Jimmy's body and changed her clothes again. She looked herself over in the mirror, and sat on the end of her bed, waiting for someone to come in and tell her that _it was time_. Eve would get that goat head. She'd make her deal with Satan. And then she'd crack open the heads and rip out the lungs of every scientists who'd ever studied her, treated her like an animal. She would even transform if she had to. She needed to do what was necessary.

Eve smiled to herself as Dr Kayne walked in and cleared his throat.

"It's time." Without a word, she followed behind him, keeping her head down so her hair would fall in front of the massive smirk on her face. When they finally reached the testing room, Eve began to laugh out loud, as she found herself locked in a room, face to face with a cream coloured goat.

"Eve, kill the goat."


	2. Wandering Soul

**To Guest: Thanks for reviewing!**

 **DrKratz named Jimmy, but I guess it's possible that he named him after either one.**

 **Don't worry, you'll see more of Jimmy ;) You can't keep a Dead Bird down.**

 **Chapter 2**

 **Wandering Soul**

Eve approached the goat, hands stretched out in a beckoning manner.

"Hi," she whispered, and stroked the animal's head. "You know, this is an interesting situation. I _hate_ obeying them, I really do. But this is one of those times where both parties can leave happy. They want to see me transform, so that I can kill you. And I want to kill you so that I can have your head." The goat leaned into her chest, bleating softly. Eve looked at it curiously, tracing her finger down one of its curved horns.

"Somehow, I feel like you can understand what I'm saying to you. But you don't seem afraid at all. Are you one of Satan's?" The goat nudged her, which she guessed was the animal's equivalent to a nod. "Okay then. I'll, uh…I'll make this quick." Without another word, Eve pricked her finger on the tip of the goat's horn, and watched as blood began to drip.

The crimson liquid splattered against the white floor; she smiled as power began to surge through her body. Eve's skin began to darken till the point that it was black, as two curved horns sprouted from the sides of her head. She grabbed the goat's horn before twisting violently, ripping through flesh as the _**Goat Head**_ was torn off the body, blood splattering everywhere.

Eve gasped as she reverted back to normal, stumbling back into a wall. The severed _**Goat Head**_ was still clutched in her outstretched hand, eyes staring into the distance. The goat's body was still standing there, completely motionless before it fell to the side, causing a squelching sound as it landed in the newly formed pool of blood.

Eve heard applause as Dr Kayne stepped through the door behind her, looking impressed.

"So you shifted," he said as he motioned at the _wraiths_ behind them. The black clad men rushed forward, picking up the goat's body and taking it out of the room. One of them tried to take the _**Goat Head**_ from Eve, but she tugged it back, before realising that Dr Kayne was staring at her.

"I kind of want to keep this." She pointed at the _**Goat Head**_ , before looking back at him. "Can I?" He frowned, as the _wraiths_ exited the room.

"Why exactly do you want it?" he asked, and Eve shrugged.

"Goats are a symbol of Satan. Satan's kind of cool. And uh, goats are cool." Dr Kayne stared at her coldly, and she gulped. "If I say please, will it make a difference? I did shift today." He sighed, waving her off as he prepared to leave the room.

"The _wraiths_ will be back soon. Get in the chair and maybe I'll let you keep it, to hang on your wall or whatever." Eve sighed as Dr Kayne left, and hesitantly dropped the _**Goat Head**_ as she got into the chair. She stared the pile of blood and wondered about Satan. Would it work the way he had promised? That was, if the vision had been real at all. What if it had been a dream?

Two _wraiths_ entered the room and walked towards her. One of them knelt at her feet and shackled her feet to legs of the chair. The other walked around the back, before wrenching her arms painfully behind her back.

"Hey!" Eve exclaimed angrily as she felt him cuff her hands together, before wrapping another length of chain around her body to further restrain her arms. "That's way too tight!"

"Kayne's orders. He doesn't want you to be able to move today," the _wraith_ said stubbornly, before leaving with his friend. Eve shifted uncomfortably as the chain pressed painfully against her elbows and chest.

Dr Kayne walked in a few moments later, and glanced at the _**Goat Head**_ lying on the floor.

"Listen, if you behave here, I'll let you have the head," he told her.

"Can you loosen it, please?" Eve asked as she wiggled uncomfortably in her seat. "It really hurts."

"Sorry about that; it's on purpose though. I can't have you moving around for this one." Her eyes widened as she saw a single _wraith_ walk in, his hands clutching a large blade. "You shifted when you bled; we just want to test it a little."

"Please don't do this," she pleaded as the _wraith_ positioned the blade over her leg. "Y-You can do it some other way."

"It's just an experiment," Kayne said as he left the room. "Don't worry; it'll all be over soon." Eve tried her best to get away from the _wraith_ as he pressed the knife to her skin, but the chains held her fast.

She screamed as the blade drew blood, the crimson liquid dripping down her legs as he cut her again, this time a little lower down. Eve couldn't see through the _wraith_ 's visor, but it seemed like he was getting a huge amount of satisfaction out of this. He moved the knife further down her leg and cut again.

"Stop it!" she yelled at him as her leg felt like it was on fire. "Please, stop it!" The _wraith_ ignored her as he made another cut, and more blood was spilled. Suddenly a stray thought wormed its way through the pain, and Eve stopped struggling against his restraints for a moment or two.

The _wraith_ had cut her several times, spilt so much blood; and yet she wasn't transforming. She was still Eve, not a demon. Just another stupid, pretty, dark haired girl. Why wasn't she changing, like she usually did? Earlier all it took was the prick of a finger, yet now with several fresh cuts down her legs, her eyes hadn't even started to glow. The Petrine Cross didn't illuminate, staying the same shade of dark red as the _wraith_ continued to carve into her skin, evoking nothing but shrill screams of unbearable pain.

When Eve's legs were drenched in blood, slits in her skin from her waist to her feet, the _wraith_ moved onto her arms chained behind her back, wielding the blade with a cold precision, as Dr Kayne silently watched the scene from the sidelines. He was just as puzzled as she was, as he observed the _wraith_ digging the blade into her flesh, Eve crying out as small rivers streamed from her eyes. Her mouth hung open as she gasped from the pain which now stung every inch of her legs, spreading to her arms as the _wraith_ continued with his job mercilessly.

Eve waited for the next inevitable cut, but was surprised as the _wraith_ stepped back, sheathing the now blood splattered blade. Although she couldn't see his face, there was a cruel satisfaction he'd received from torturing her, glowing like an aura as Dr Kayne reopened the door, scowling angrily. His back was hunched over, the same way that he always did when he was extremely confused.

"You didn't transform." He spat in annoyance as Eve's head hung down, eyelids drooping. The pain didn't just hurt; it was digging away at her mind, her brain. She was already struggling to stay awake as Kayne prodded her arm, evoking a loud scream as she attempted to jerk away from him. But the chains around her only pressed against her skin, hurting her even more. "Why didn't you?" he asked and she tried to tell him that she didn't know, that normally all it took was a drop of blood, but that right now she was just as confused about it as he was. But she was already fighting unconsciousness as she lifted her head and looked him in the eyes.

"I…" was all she managed to say before her head drooped down again, her eyes closed and her breath evened out. Dr Kayne stared at her for a moment or two, before he shrugged, leaving with the _wraith_ as the door closed with a near silent click.

 **xXx**

 _Eve lay on the cold stone floor of the place called Sheol, shivering at the feet of Satan's throne. The demon king sat upon his high seat, red eyes glowing like small suns. She was still wrapped in the chains that the_ wraiths _had bound her with, and the cuts on her skin stung as a cold wind emanated from the demon's position._

" _So you got the head," he stated, as Eve struggled against her bonds, cursing to herself._

" _Do you mind helping me?" she asked and Satan flicked his wrist, sending out tongues of blue fire that wrapped around her body, melting the chains away until they were nothing more than a puddle of molten metal. She sat up, wincing as her cuts made contact with the liquid, and scrambled away in a momentary panic. The demon chuckled as Eve supported herself against the wall, her legs trembling weakly from the pain digging away at her ankles._

" _What happened to you?" he asked, as she shivered uncomfortably from the cold._

" _I had to shift to kill the goat," Eve explained. "They realised that I transform when I spill blood, so they tortured me. Made cuts over my entire body. But for some reason, I didn't transform." She cringed as she recalled the memory, looking down at her legs, which were bleeding profusely._

" _Shifting generally only works when the shifter actually wants to. It's a mental thing," Satan told her as he stood up from his throne, spreading his wings. "You know, I'm surprised you got the head so quickly."_

" _Whatever," Eve said, tucking her hair behind her ear. "I came here to make a deal. So let's do that." Admiration flickered briefly in Satan's eyes, before he waved his hand and bright red tongues of flame burst to life in every corner of the room._

" _A deal." He smirked as the room was illuminated, red flames engulfing his throne like a swarm of hungry insects. "Very well; after all, I did go to the trouble of sending you that goat." Eve snorted as Satan tilted his head, and his palms began to glow. "What is it that you seek?"_

" _Power," she said, as she walked towards him, consciously avoiding the still spreading puddle of molten liquid on the ground. "I_ need _power, to escape the facility. With enough power, I could kill the stupid doctors, and I could take Lilith with me."_

" _Lilith is a friend of yours?" Satan asked her and she nodded. "Why is she being tested?"_

" _She has a link with a baby demon," Eve explained. "She calls on him, and he appears. His name is_ **Incubus** _."_

" _Oh. That little blighter," The demon king muttered as the flames seemed to dim at the sudden realisation. "And to think that we never considered looking for him on the surface of the earth."_

" _So; what is it that you want in exchange?" Eve asked, and his eyes glowed with a sudden hunger._

" _I want a soul," he said, and Eve jerked back._

" _Last time I was here, you told me that you wouldn't ask me for my soul," she pointed out, and Satan laughed._

" _I never said I couldn't ask for someone else's. I only said_ your _soul, dear." She pouted, trying to find a way out of this. The demon king was, essentially, asking her to give up someone else's soul._

" _How exactly would I give you a soul?" Eve asked, and Satan shrugged._

" _You just think of someone you know, someone who trusts you. You offer up their soul on a mental platter, I shake my hand and the deal is done." She racked her brain, trying to find someone who she could give up, but she couldn't think of anyone. There was nothing that could persuade her to give up Lilith, so that threw most of the plan out of the window. Unless…_

" _What if the soul I give you belongs to someone who's dead?" She tilted her head as Satan seemed to consider this for a moment._

" _You took care not to say the word person," he observed, and Eve grinned._

" _So you picked up on that. Huh."_

" _Yes, I'm not stupid. I'm guessing you're talking about the bird." Instantly her smile dropped into a frown, as she looked down at the ground._

" _How do you know about Jimmy?"_

" _I hear things. You humans are very loud," the being said, almost making her laugh. "I will accept the bird's soul; if you're willing to give it. There may be a few consequences, though."_

" _Such as?" She asked worriedly as the demon shrugged nonchalantly._

" _Jimmy would be reanimated. His wounds would heal, his body would mend itself. The thing is, he would be changed. A_ **Dead Bird** _, flying around in the land of the living. He'd be a little more than unstable; extremely unpredictable, possibly without a conscience." Eve considered this for a moment, then nodded her head._

" _I can handle that," she said, and smiled as she saw Satan's hand, outstretched._

" _Then let's shake on that." she stepped forward, until his wings encircled them both, blocking out the glaring warm light of the red fire. She took his hand, shook it, and screamed as she staggered back, gasping._

 _When she'd made contact with his hand, red veins of power had instantly ignited in her body, blood coursing with demonic power. Eve's head felt like it was going to explode, as knowledge of her new power began to fill her brain._

" _You won't be able to get out of that facility alone," Satan said as Eve righted herself, the powered blood making her cuts burn with pain even more than before. "I'll send an emissary, to help you make your escape. When you hear the first scream, that's when you'll activate the power." She gave him a nod as the walls of Sheol began to swim away from her, screams filling her head as she fell to the ground, and her vision faded._

 **xXx**

Eve woke up panting as the pain hit her again, catching her off guard. She was still chained to the chair, Dr Kayne sitting across from her with his arms crossed.

"Well, this is quite fascinating," the man mused as she came to her senses, head still spinning.

"How long has it been?" she asked, and he gave her a small chuckle.

"Oh, it's just about to be dinner time." Eve panicked, attempting to stand up, before being jolted back by the chains. "Don't worry, I'm letting you go now. And you can keep the head; you did well today." He motioned towards the _wraith_ behind her, who began to unlock the chains binding her. She managed a small 'thank you', before following Dr Kayne to the cafeteria in uncomfortable silence as she clutched the _**Goat Head**_ in her hand.

She got her tray of food, before joining Lilith at a table near the far corner of the room.

"Geez," the other girl muttered as Eve sat down. "What the hell did they do to you?"

"Cuts all over my arms and legs," she said glumly. "They figured out how I transform."

"That's bad," Lilith groaned, putting her face in her hands. "That's really bad."

"Good news, though," Eve said, as the redhead perked up. "I've found a way to get us out of here."

"No way."

"Yes way."

"That's complete crap," Lilith insisted, and Eve shrugged.

"Listen, this may be the only way we escape this place, okay? There's only one way this goes; as soon as you hear someone screaming, come and find me. We escape together."

"And you're not going to let me in on this awesome plan?" Lilith asked, sighing as Eve shook her head.

"I'm sorry. I'll explain everything to you once we escape."

"So, what's the goat for?" Lilith pointed at the _**Goat Head**_ , and Eve frowned.

"I told you that I would explain everything to you once we're out. Just make sure you bring _**Incubus**_ and the _**Box of Friends**_."

Lilith tilted her head, hair falling to one side.

"So I should just come find you? How the hell will I do that if the whole facility is under lockdown?"

"Oh, you'll see the lasers easily enough." Eve replied cheerfully, sending a shiver down Lilith's spine. "If everything goes according to plan, we won't have to kill too many people."

"That sounds like a terrible plan." Lilith muttered, before leaning forward, apparently intrigued. "Tell me more." Eve smirked and shook her head in satisfaction as her friend groaned. "Come on; please? Just a little."

"Sorry, sweetheart." She said with the smirk frozen on her face. "Can't tell you anything else." She started standing up, somehow having already finished her plate of baked potatoes.

"Hey, since when did you start calling me sweetheart?" Lilith asked, but Eve was already walking away, _**Goat Head**_ tucked under her arm. "Hey!" Eve rolled her eyes, continuing on her way back to her room. Unbeknownst to both of them a figure watched Eve from a dark alcove in the hallway. Its glowing red eyes flickered before it disappeared completely, leaving no trace of it behind.

 **xXx**

Even as Kayne watched Eve leaving the table through the countless hidden cameras located around the facility, he was thinking about how she hadn't transformed after he'd cut her afterwards. But when she had pricked her finger, a single drop had been enough to trigger her monstrous transformation. He just didn't understand.

It had been right in front of him; pure, raw power of a possibly limitless amount. He wondered just how much energy Eve's Petrine Cross had given her. If he could manipulate and understand the power he had just witnessed, then he would be like an omnipotent god, the world at his fingertips. He would be free to shape the world in his own image.

The door behind him suddenly slid open as Russell stepped through, frowning as she looked at the screens.

"What on earth did you do to her?" she asked him, watching Eve as she limped back to her room, a trail of blood left behind her. Kayne shrugged, turning around as she continued to stare. "You do know that she's the only demonic specimen that we actually have in custody, right? Incubus is still as devious as ever, and that 'owner' of his keeps on finding loopholes. We can't keep this crap up forever. What are we going to do if you accidentally kill Eve?"

"She won't die," he replied calmly. "She can't. She's beyond death. People like her never do." Russell gave Kayne a strange look but shrugged off his statement.

"Whatever. Just make sure that she spills. We need to figure this crap out. If we do, you know what it means."

"We become gods." Russell snorted, a grin on her face.

"More than that. We become greater than God himself. Imagine us, with the power of the devil at out fingertips. The power to start fires at will, create devastating hurricanes in the blink of an eye, send the sea level so high that every bit of land gets swallowed up until nothing is left but the ocean. _That_ is what we will become, Kayne."

"Yes," he whispered, looking back at the screens. "We will be great indeed." Eve was at the door to her room, motioning weakly towards it to the _wraith_ standing guard. He looked at her suspiciously, but after seeing the _**Goat Head**_ , seemed to believe her case. He slid a card to the door, causing it to slide open. She thanked him as she walked inside and the door closed behind her.

There were no cameras inside her room, so he could only guess what it was that she was doing now. But there was nothing recreational in that room of hers. Maybe she would faun over the _**Goat Head**_ for a couple of hours before dozing off. Or perhaps she'd keep crying over that bird of hers. Either one made sense. But that was not a concern to him right now. At the moment, his main priority was assisting Russell with capturing that little brat, _**Incubus**_.

 **xXx**

Eve sighed in relief as the door closed behind her, dropping the _**Goat Head**_ on the floor. It squelched a little at the impact, but she chose to ignore it. Now was not the time to worry about aesthetics. She looked up to the birdcage expecting Jimmy to be flying around again but frowned in disappointment when she saw that the bundle of blood and feathers was still the way it had been before.

"Don't look so disappointed." She looked down and yelped as she realised that she wasn't alone in the room. Someone was sitting on her bed, shrouded in darkness. Through the haze she could see a pair of black demonic horns similar to Satan's, though the left one was broken off at the end. Behind the figure two batlike wings flapped every few seconds, disturbing the mist around him. And finally there were the eyes. The two, glowing red eyes which shone like beacons, aimed directly at Eve.

"Sorry, did I startle you?" He sounded genuinely sorry, despite the fact that all he'd done was make his presence known. If anything, it was Eve who should have been sorry for reacting so dramatically. "I apologise; this is my first time doing this kind of job. Usually I'd be on the front lines, but now isn't a time for fuss."

"Who are you?" she asked shakily, causing him to snicker almost sinisterly.

"The name's Azazel. Satan sent me," he explained. "Like I said, this is my very first time doing this kind of job."

"Do you mind?" Eve motioned towards the smoke filling the room. Azazel sighed, waving his arm. Instantly the dark aura dissipated into nothingness, as she took a sigh of relief. "Oh, god. Why the hell would you do that? It definitely didn't help with the atmosphere."

"Sorry," Azazel said again, his expression apologetic. Now that she could see him, she realised he looked pretty similar to Satan in his appearance. He was a lesser demon. Sort of like her, when she transformed. "I'm not very experienced at controlling the _**Maw of the Void**_. It sort of has a mind of its own." Eve shivered, expecting the dark mist to pop out of the shadows at any moment.

"How did you get in here?" she asked him. He held up a yellow remote with a single circular button in the centre, a short antenna sticking out the top.

"I used this stupid thing. _**Teleport 2.0**_. It takes you to a random place you've never been to before. You've got no clue how long I spent zipping around the world till I ended up in this facility. Usually this would be Apollyon's job, but his void has a pretty long cool-down time." Eve raised an eyebrow at the device, then flickered her gaze back to Azazel.

"So, what's the plan?" she asked. "Run out and kill everyone in sight?" Azazel chuckled at her suggestion, shaking his head.

"No. First we find your friend Lilith's room. Satan had his guys do some research. Supposedly, she possesses the _**Box of Friends**_." He smiled when he saw the look of realization on her face, before continuing. "Yeah, it wasn't hard to figure that out. It's a relic of incredible power, capable of replicating small creatures with celestial energy. When we found the signature, we knew what it was before we looked."

"So, why do we need the box?" Eve asked, as Azazel rose off the bed and began to pace back and forth.

"I brought a _**Car Battery**_ with me. If I plug into the _**Box of Friends**_ , it should double its effect." She looked at him, clearly confused.

"The _**Box of Friends**_ is powered by electricity?" she wondered out loud. Azazel gave her a small shrug.

"Seriously, what isn't these days?" Eve sighed, looking back up at the bird cage.

"Do you know why Jimmy hasn't woken up yet?" The demon looked up at the lifeless body in the cage, frowning.

"Can't say that I do. Placing a soul back into a dead body never reverts the creature back to its usual self. The resurrection can also take long periods of time. Speaking of which, I used to have a _**Rotten Baby**_ friend. But then one day it accidentally flew into an active volcano and got incinerated."

"Ouch."

"Yeah. Can't say I feel sorry for it though. Always was a little fidgety." Eve leaned against the wall, sinking down onto the floor. "Anyways, we use the _**Box of Friends**_ to duplicate _**Incubus**_ a bunch of times, until there's enough of them to cover us. Since you've already made your Devil Deal, then you'll be able to help out a bit." She twitched nervously but didn't comment. "After that, we grab your friend and I'll teleport us to Sheol."

"…Alright." Eve realised that Azazel has opened Jimmy's cage, the door swinging even in the absence of wind, reminding her that Azazel's _**Maw of the Void**_ was still with them in the room.

"You ready?" he asked. She gave him a shaky nod, to which he responded by walking to the door and holding out his hand. Suddenly a red beam of light expanded in a ring, demolishing the wall. There was a loud cry, before the sound of piercing flesh was heard. Azazel's laser had hit its mark.

It wasn't long before the klaxons sounded, warning every _wraith_ in the building that there was an attack on the facility. Eve followed the demon out of her room, gazing around in wonder. Bodies lay strewn aside, limbs dismembered and pools of blood flowing from their open wounds. Expressions of fear and shock, plastered on each of their faces. Azazel stood in the middle of it all, his red eyes glowing even brighter than they had in her room. He turned to face her, a manical grin on his face.

"Get ready," he warned, as _wraiths_ flooded the corridor on either side, surrounding them. "Let's kick some mortal ass."


	3. Exodus

**Chapter 3**

 **Exodus**

Lilith jerked her head up as the klaxons blared. It was the signal for an attack of any kind; was it Eve? She quickly rose to her feet, running from the cafeteria as wraiths flooded into one of the many hallways. This had to be Eve's doing; it was the only possible explanation. After all, Lilith knew that her room was in the direction in which they were headed, hers being on the opposite side of the facility.

She headed in the opposite direction, flinching every time she heard a scream. She couldn't go to Eve while the girl in question was still swamped by wraiths, whatever it was that she was doing to deal with them. Had she shifted again? No, she couldn't have; Eve despised anything involving her changing form. She's stated several times how much she hated being a demon. But then again, she was dealing with the wraiths pretty well.

Lilith slid to a stop at the door to her room, looking around for the wraith who usually stood guard. He was missing from his post, though, since there was an attack happening near Eve's room. Damn it. Suddenly, she felt a familiar rough hand on her shoulder, squeezing tightly.

"Why aren't you in your room?" Dr. Russell asked her furiously. "I don't have time to deal with you."

"The wraith isn't here," Lilith pointed out. "They all went that way." She pointed, causing Dr. Russell to snarl as she took out her card to open Lilith's door, then ran in the direction she'd pointed. She smirked, walking into her room, leaving the door open behind her. "Alright Incubus, come out." At once the little demon appeared before her, chittering excitedly, eyes constantly flickering towards the door. "I know, I know. We might be able to finally get out of here. But to do that, we should probably help them out."

She walked over to her bed and pulled the covers down, to reveal a black box, outlined with brilliant gold. Beautiful patterns were engraved into it, angels on one side, and demons on the other. She rapped it once, before looking back at Incubus. The demon grinned as a copy of him appeared, bearing the same grin. The two chittered together happily, before zooming out of the room. Lilith grinned as she sat down on her bed, waiting for Eve to come.

"Don't take too long, Eve. You just had to do it at dinner, though."

xXx

Azazel's Maw of the Void shredded through the wraiths, limbs torn off right left and center as the dark mist burst forwards in unstoppable clouds. Eve wasn't really doing much to help, but she was using her Dull Razor as a makeshift weapon, shedding blood whenever she could. This wasn't often, considering that the wraiths were all heavily armored, but every now and then she'd find an opening, a chink in their defense, and she would make the most of it.

As she had continued to slash, duck and weave around her enemies, Azazel must have pulled another of his teleportation tricks, because suddenly there was a baby demon by her side, with enormous horns which looked far too large for its head. It gave her a mischievous grin, before firing a blood red laser at the horde of wraiths, similar to Azazel's. Just seeing that laser made her weak at the knees.

She'd made that Devil Deal, offered up Jimmy's soul on a metal platter, and yet she felt none of the strength which Satan had transmitted to her. Her punches felt just as useless as before, every kick she delivered hurting her more than the enemy. Eve could feel fear taking over her actions, nerves kicking in at the worst moments. She started pulling punches after knuckles split, acting purely defensively. The Dull Razor in her hand felt heavier each time she swung, as her body slowly succumbed to fatigue.

Meanwhile, Azazel and the baby demon fought with a vicious lust for blood, Satan's emissary cackling darkly every time he made a new hole in a wraith's armor. The other smaller demon wasn't doing nearly as much damage compared to Azazel's brutal bloodbath, but it fought with a determination which Eve admired. Every shot counted, every shot killed, and every shot drew fear from its enemies. Eve's own body count was probably around three or four. It was understandable considering her limited arsenal, but even then she felt embarrassed. And she could see Azazel's frustration every time he looked at her. His expression was livid.

"I thought you made a Devil Deal!" he yelled at her as he pushed outwards with his hands, sending a cloud of darkness towards the similarly colored wraiths. "Why aren't you using the power he gave to you?"

"I don't know what he gave me!" Eve screamed back in frustration while stumbling away from a wraith's burning rod. "I just took the deal! I asked for power, and he said that he'd give it to me!" Azazel growled in annoyance, grabbing a wraith's head and twisting, snapping his neck. All her time at this facility the wraiths had seemed like such imposing figures, almost invincible. But Azazel was here, tearing out their throats and dismembering them limb from limb as if they were mere insects.

"Then try and focus, goddammit!" the demon screeched back at her. "You must have felt his power coursing through your body when you shook his hand! Find that energy, and use it! Convert it into a form which will help us!" Eve's eyes widened as she remembered the rush she'd felt when she'd taken the demon king's hand. All that power, flowing through her veins like fire. It had hurt her, made her feel as if she'd been burning alive, and she hadn't cared. That feeling had simply been too amazing.

She cried out in pain as a wraith finally managed to get a hit in, his rod striking her hard on the face. She staggered backward, eyes tearing as another hit landed on her stomach. She gasped, falling backward as the wraith kicked her over onto her belly, his blows relentless. She felt so powerless. The Dull Razor had clattered uselessly to the floor, now being stampeded by the crowd of armored guards converging upon the three of them. Another kick hit her on the back, causing her to scream and arch her head backward, only for it to be slammed downwards by another blow from a heated rod. The pain came back. The world tumbled. Pinpricks of nothingness formed in her vision. Somewhere in the horde of black bodies, a baby demon cried. She was nothing here, just another useless person in the crowd. Screaming after every blow, her vision fading more and more with each passing second…

And then she felt it come back. Power. Rushing through her body, her veins, her blood, her heartbeat speeding up as it spread to every last section. And then there was a blood red. Crimson light, completely filling her vision as the screams around her grew louder and more focused. Men were crying, their legs completely cut off by some unseen force, Eve's own body hunched forward on all fours, her breathing stabilizing once more. Just like that, the power was gone. But she had felt it. And she had used it.

All around her, wraiths lay on their backs, either already dead or very close to it. Blood gushed from their bodies like fountains, as they spat out the same crimson liquid from their mouths. Some of them were simply suffering from broken bones, while others' armor was completely shredded, the energy which Eve had unleashed cutting right through their bodies. Even Azazel had halted his attacks to gape at her in surprise.

"I don't believe it," he muttered in shock. "Of all the thing he could have chosen to bestow upon you, a mortal…he chose Brimstone." Eve didn't take the time to ask what that meant; the attack had completely drained her, sucking out every last reserve of energy she'd possessed. A few seconds later she collapsed, prompting Azazel to curse and go back to beheading wraiths.

The other guards around her seemed to take this as a sign to attack, as they charged towards, eager to end her. Eve reached out, her hand grasping the Dull Razor, as she dragged it towards her. Then she squeezed. No blood was drawn, but instantly every wraith around her skidded to an abrupt stop, their heads facing towards the door to Eve's room. For a moment she just looked at them in puzzlement, not understanding why they were so confused. Then she heard the flapping.

A dark shape darted out of her room, charging to the scene. With his eyes sewn shut into crosses, he looked nothing like his former, jubilant self. Flying over to his master, he started to caw, landing in her hair and screeching incessantly at the wraiths surrounding them. Eve smiled, her eyes snapping open as she looked at the reanimated crow perched on her head.

"Good to see you too, Jimmy." Jimmy cried back happily, bouncing on her head before taking off and twisting mid-air, drilling right through reinforced armor with his powerful beak. He was a vicious killing machine, as he avoided swipes and punches while pecking through their flesh and sometimes consuming it.

"It's about time!" Azazel yelled at the bird in anger. "What took you so damn long?!" When he clawed back in response, the demon flew backward, firing another Brimstone laser into the crowd. "That isn't a valid excuse, idiot!" The bird wasn't fazed by his comment, as he continued to fly around Eve in a deadly circle, spearing anyone foolish enough to come close. He was truly devoted to protecting her.

"Jimmy!" Eve yelled, slowly rising to her feet. She winced in pain as she strained her legs. "We've…we've gotta get to Lilith's room…" The crow cawed in understanding, swooping towards the direction of the cafeteria, raking his claws on a wraith's black helmet, leaving large gashes in the visor. The man screamed and flailed his arms; Jimmy's assault had likely blinded him. His flaming rod struck another wraith in the stomach, causing him to keel over while his accidental attacker tripped backward.

"Come on!" Azazel raised his arms, causing his Maw of the Void to take shape, forming two thinly spread walls which made a passageway through the carnage. The injured wraiths cried out as they were pressed against the walls, albeit weakly. Spread out so thinly, the Maw of the Void could hardly be called a decent barrier. Azazel quickly sped down the makeshift passage, Eve stumbling after him weakly. One of the wraiths managed to break free of his prison, swinging his heated rod at Eve and connecting it against her neck. She cried out, her eyes suddenly lighting up and the Petrine Cross beginning to glow a bright red. Before she knew it she had torn the man's head off, holding it out in front of her as she stared in shock, blood dripping from her fingers and the Dull Razor clutched in her left hand. She didn't even notice the long, twisted horns which had erupted from the sides of her head until she saw her reflection in the darkened puddle of blood.

"Oh, God," Eve murmured as her awareness returned, gasping in shock. Her stamina had been replenished by her sudden transformation, the power coursing through her veins once more. Azazel and the baby demon were staring at her, surprised by her sudden shift in form. But the moment didn't last long; wraiths were already escaping the Maw of the Void. Eve grinned, raising her hand, feeling Satan's power flowing through her arm, then willed it to fire. A blood red laser shot out of her hand, blasting a charred hole through the torso of the nearest wraith.

"Good job!" Azazel yelled at her. "You're getting the hang of it!" She smirked back at him, clenching the Dull Razor tightly as she ran to the cafeteria, Jimmy cawing enthusiastically from above. When she and Azazel reached the large open room, it had been invaded by wraiths, a sea of black bodies beginning to charge towards them. Eve held her breath, eyes wandering towards Azazel, who faced the flood with a grim determination. He raised his hands, channeling the Maw of the Void into a thick, dark cloud hovering in front of him. The baby demon, drew backward, opening its mouth and charging another laser. Jimmy rose higher, flapping his wings faster and cawing at the enemies with chilling malice. Seeing the others preparing themselves, Eve crossed her arms, feeling the Petrine Cross burn brighter, and the energy surging through her tightened muscles.

Before they could even unleash their attacks, the first few wraiths approaching them were suddenly bombarded by a multitude of red bullets, the globs of acid melting their armor and searing through their flesh in mere seconds. Eve looked up, smiling when she saw the twin Incubuses flying over their heads, firing their deadly projectiles into the small army.

"Look!" she said to Azazel, pointing upwards. "Lilith must have used the Box of Friends!" The demon grinned at her, before pushing forward with the palms of his hands, sending the thick black cloud rushing forward, ruthlessly dismembering the wraiths with deadly precision. At that same moment, the baby demon fired his thin laser, Jimmy dive-bombed into the crowd, and Eve uncrossed her arms, unleashing the Brimstone laser onto the horde of armored bodies.

The charging army of wraiths was completely decimated by their combined attack, as the Maw of the Void took out the majority of the enemies, Eve and the baby demon sweeping the room with their lasers and Jimmy picking off anyone who had somehow survived. Eve perked up as she saw a familiar redheaded girl standing awkwardly in the hallway opposite to them, the golden box tucked under her arm.

"Lilith!" Eve yelled at her, Azazel's attention going to her as well. Without hesitation he flew towards her, extending his arms out for the box.

"May I have the Box of Friends?" he asked politely, causing Lilith to twitch in surprise. After seeing Eve's approving nod, she held it out to him, watching as he pulled a miniature car battery out of his Maw of the Void, before plugging it into the box. Suddenly the golden patterns began to flicker brightly, light radiating from the box as Azazel took out several smaller batteries and held them to the box, while the battle continued to rage on behind them.

If the fight hadn't already been one-sided enough before Azazel had pulled off his trick, there was no doubt about the victors now. Eve watched in fascination as the Incubuses began to multiply, first eight, then thirty-two, then a hundred and twenty-eight. The tiny demons cackled evilly at the wraiths, raining down upon them with boiling acid. The force began to melt underneath the attack, armour burning and flesh peeling. Eve quickly ran around the outside of the storm, her strength beginning to fade as she reached Lilith and Azazel, panting quickly.

Azazel looked at the cloud of Incubuses, then at Lilith. The redhead nodded in understanding, calling out to the massive cluster of dark bodies. A single demon, the original Incubus, zoomed out of the onslaught and darted towards them. Azazel nodded at the baby demon as it hovered by his shoulder, then looked at Jimmy as he soared above him.

"Alright," he muttered. "Let's get the heck out of here." He pulled another object out of the dark smog, this time a thin rectangular card with an image of a man carrying a stick over his back. "Asinus!" Instantly, Eve felt herself being pulled towards the card, eyes widening as she and the rest of the group suddenly vanished from the facility, into a darkened room comprised of stone. Azazel took in her shocked expression, grinning in amusement. "Yeah. We're in Sheol, my friends."

"I have no idea where the Hell that is," Lilith deadpanned as she looked around. "Eve's told me little to nothing about the situation. You mind explaining?" Azazel frowned, eyes darting over to Eve.

"You may want to tone down your language, Lilith," he hissed at her. "There are no angels who play joyous fanfare up in fluffy white clouds, nor is there a land terraformed by fire and brimstone. There is only Sheol. This is where all the souls go when they depart from the world of the living."

"That's a shame," she muttered. "It would have been cool if angels existed."

"Oh, they do," he said with a grin on his face. "But as I said, they don't play any of their hideous music in that realm of theirs. And thank goodness they don't; I hear enough of it on the front lines."

"You've mentioned that a lot," Eve said. "Front lines? What exactly are you talking about?" Azazel frowned, moving towards the stone doorway leading to a similar but much larger room.

"It'll probably better if you hear it from the big guy," he told them. "And I really don't want to explain it all. I've done so about a million times." Eve and Lilith stared at him in irritation, but didn't press further as he led them through a series of darkened rooms, some of them lit by a flickering blue fire while others were near pitch black.

Surprisingly enough, most of the rooms were completely empty, spare the occasional blue flame or a creature's grotesquely splattered remains. Lilith was clearly disturbed by their surroundings, skirting around anything which seemed foreign, but Eve and Azazel both wore nonchalant expressions. Eve had already grown used to Sheol's horrible conditions, whereas Azazel…well, he'd probably lived here his entire life.

"Where is everyone?" Eve suddenly asked. "Surely it can't just be you and Satan around here; you said that there were spirits?" After passing through so many empty rooms, she was beginning to grow nervous, especially concerning the dried streaks of blood and mutilated carcasses.

"We're too far out," Azazel explained. "No one lives around here, because these rooms are too far out. They're the very boundaries of Sheol, and undefended. Very close to the front lines." Eve frowned, taking one last look at a humanoid's head, before following after Azazel and Lilith.

Several more rooms later, she began to see proof that Sheol was indeed inhabited by life; or, the opposite, in this case. Demons dwelled in the rooms, some with horns, some without, some humanoid, while others bore no resemblance to one another. None chose to interact with the group of three, a few even cowering away as Azazel strode through, head held high and his Maw of the Void swirling around him. It wasn't difficult to figure out that in Sheol, the demon was held in high regard.

It wasn't long after they saw the first demons that they came to a doorway different than all the others which they had passed through. The first thing which Eve noticed wasn't the fact that the doorposts were made of circling human ribs, or that there was a cracked human skull grinning down at them from on top. It was light. The sickly, uncomfortable red light which shone from the depths of the room, even though they couldn't see further. It was almost as if it was meant to blind anyone who wanted to walk in so that they wouldn't have a clue what was going on.

Azazel passed through the doorway without hesitation, his Maw of the Void quickly vanishing from their sight as soon as he did. It was worrying to them - the black mist had become almost comforting during their short time with Azazel. Eve and Lilith both stopped when they came to the door, looking up at the leering skull, expressions of doubt on their faces.

"This feels dodgy," Eve muttered. Lilith nodded, staring into the light as she narrowed her eyes.

"Are you getting a chill down your spine?" her friend asked as she took an uncertain step forward as if testing whether the light would hurt her.

"I have been from the moment we got here," the dark haired girl admitted. "The way he talks makes me feel like we just stumbled upon something bad."

"Like war?"

"Exactly." The two both frowned, hesitantly walking into the light. To their relief nothing seemed to happen to them as the light enveloped them, but their eyes both widened to the sight on the other side - Eve's significantly less than Lilith's.

Blue fire was crackling in the four corners of the darkened room, lightly illuminating the stone throne in the center. Satan himself sat on the throne, his red eyes shining at them with interest. In his right hand, he gripped the head of the goat which Eve had killed back at the facility. Eve stared at the head, fixated by the fresh blood which was dripping from its neck. Hadn't it stopped bleeding ages ago?

"Eve," the king spoke, his grin widening. "It's so good to see you before me, in the flesh." The girl nodded, eyeing him with curiosity.

"Yeah. Good to see you too." The goat-headed demon simply laughed at her, before focusing his attention on Lilith.

"And Lilith. The girl with a soul bond to a demon…it is truly a pleasure to make your acquaintance." The redhead looked bewildered but tried her best to be polite in her response to the king.

"…likewise…" she muttered quietly, her eyes fixated on the ground. Eve frowned at Satan, her eyes flickering between him and Lilith.

"You didn't sound so formal when we were talking in my head," she pointed out. He chuckled at her, waving a hand and motioning towards the walls of the room.

"If they knew I was so casual, they wouldn't follow me." Satan grinned, folding his hands on his lap. "It's good to practice intimidation. Oh, and you can stop staring at the floor. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable."

"Oh, don't worry. You're not making me uncomfortable," Lilith assured him. "I just have sensitive eyes. Anything brighter than a candle and I have to squint. Kind of hurts not to." Satan looked perplexed at her words, turning to Eve in order to receive confirmation that her claims were true.

"She isn't lying," the dark-haired girl admitted. "It's why she never looks me in the eyes."

"Interesting," the demon king muttered but didn't comment further on the topic. "So you are connected to Incubus. The little blighter's been missing for years, did you know?"

"I suppose I do now," Lilith replied drily, earning herself a snicker. "So he's supposed to be here with you guys? In Sheol?"

"According to nature," Satan answered cryptically. "But he's always been a troublemaker. We weren't surprised when he disappeared. But we were quite shocked when the idiot didn't come back. We figured he'd made a bond - we just weren't sure with who." Lilith frowned at that, apparently still mulling over the concept of Sheol itself. Eve chose to speak up at that moment, asking the question which both of them had been pondering since Azazel had mentioned the front lines.

"Is there a war going on? Azazel told us that - wait a minute. Where is he, anyway?" Satan sighed, finally getting off his throne as he walked towards them, drawing in his leathery wings.

"There's a war," he confirmed. "Against the heavens. Angels arrive every day and try to break into Sheol. Azazel is one of our best fighters - we've just been attacked on the other side of Sheol. He went to help."

"Right," Eve muttered. "But I'm confused - he made it sound like there are all these demons around here, but we've hardly seen any so far." Satan smirked at her, motioning for them to follow him as he walked around the back of his throne, leading to another door, also coated with red light.

"All will be explained," he assured them. "Just walk through the door." Eve hesitated for a moment, her mind going through the information he'd told her. She didn't feel like going through the door was a good idea. Maybe it was just the sinister red light emitting from it, but something about it sent shivers down her spine. Then again, at the same time, she needed answers. Answers about everything.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped forward, walking through the door. And she saw the true Sheol for the first time.


End file.
